Multiple(3) monitors on a mac HELP!!

[spondootre]

Hi Everyone,

I have taken the step of removing my annoying error filled PC systems from my business and replaced with MACs which I have used at home for a number of years.

With my PC setup I had had a main display monitor which showed my main desktop directly in front of me, then a smaller monitor facing toward me and to the side of the main one which was a duplicate of another monitor which was mounted on the ceiling facing away from me, this was so that I could slide images, video etc onto the monitor at the side of my main screen and show customers these images etc.....

OK so I have replaced my PC with an iMac and have the main computer/monitor and these 2 other screens connected to it, one connected via a USB display port and another via the mini displayport with a vga adapter. I can use the other 2 displays as extensions to my desktop, or can mirror all 3. But I cant seem to mirror the 2 sub monitors and have the main monitor seperately within the normal monitor prefs, can anyone help! I really need to set this up as I don't want to mirror all the displays as when a customer comes to look at something on the main screen it means hiding all of the other information I may be working on before showing them as the monitor facing away from me is always on show, this is something which was easily setup on the windows environment and hopefully is possible on a mac too!....

Hopefully someone can offer a solution and i'm just being thick.....

MAC OS 10.6.6, 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM

 

[Mal]

I can't test this here, as I only have one monitor hooked up, but have you tried dragging Monitor 2 onto Monitor 3 in the Arrangement tab of the Display Preferences? May not work, but that's the technique I would first employ to fix that. I'm not entirely sure it's possible to do what you're looking for, but I hope for your sake it is and that if my suggestion doesn't help that someone else's will.

jW

 

[spondootre]

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion, I just tried but it won't drag on top only top, bottom, left or right in any position :-(

I hoping it is possible, maybe with some other software as otherwise it makes the whole setup a bit useless....

 

[spondootre]

Any help would be appreciated, even a nudge in the right direction or an absolute, no it's impossible!

Thanks

 

[spondootre]

OK, problem solved!! Very much what Mal said Thanks!! but being a newb i didn't know about pressing the alt key

I took a trip to a genius bar and......

With 3 monitors showing on the display preferences pane, make one main with the dock and the other 2 as extended desktops, then hold "alt" and click n drag one of the extended desktops on top of the other.... done

hopefully this will help someone out!

 

[Mal]

Hey, cool! I was almost right!

Glad to hear that you got it figured out, and also glad to know a new trick now myself.

jW